Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic (1796-1912)

Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic (1796–1912) is the first book to be published on the most influential – yet often little-known – women and men of 19th-century China, a knowledge of whose lives, ambitions and achievements helps us understand modern-day China, its domestic challenges, political direction, and international relationships.

Discover the stories of 100 women and men whose activities in the 19th century laid the foundations of modern China. This book sprang from a simple but original ambition: to provide an understanding – told through the lives of significant individuals – of how China transformed from dynastic empire to a modern, republican nation during the period 1796 to 1912.

Both famous and surprisingly little-known women and men are brought together in eight thematic sections that illuminate the birth of modern China. Featured individuals include the Dowager Empress Cixi, the power behind the throne of the Qing dynasty for fifty years; Yu Rongling, who is regarded as the founder of modern dance in China and who trained in Paris with Isadora Duncan; Duanfang, China’s first serious collector of international art before being murdered by his own troops in the 1911 Revolution that destroyed the Qing Dynasty; Shi Yang, the greatest woman pirate in the world who is now celebrated in popular culture as a powerful feminine icon; Luo Zhenyu, the ‘father’ of Chinese archaeology whose discoveries confirmed the antiquity of Chinese civilisation; and many others.

Written by a large team of specialists, this book breathes life into China’s history and international relations, providing multiple insights into the history of this vast country and its role on the world stage. Each biography is written by a specialist curator or scholar from China, Japan, Australia, the USA, Canada, Europe or the United Kingdom, making this an authoritative and engaging resource for students, academics and anyone interested in the history of China and the country’s place in the modern world.

‘Engagingly-written and beautifully-illustrated … Like being invited to a huge party full of interesting (if sometimes unpleasant or even dangerous) people from all walks of life. Like most parties, there are a few familiar faces there, too! Indeed, this is a retrospective panorama of a fascinating period in Chinese history, packed with information and providing an entrance into a forgotten world. Harrison-Hall and Lovell have shone a bright light on a neglected area of Chinese (and world) history, and for that the highest praise is due’ – Asian Review of Books